


In the Pit

by ExtraSteps



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, First Kiss, Liam and Theo are wolves in a supernatural fighting pit, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 05:56:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14710386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraSteps/pseuds/ExtraSteps
Summary: An illegal “dog” fighting ring that pits supernaturals against each other for money and both Liam and Theo are “dogs” that have different owners and have to fight each other but then behind the scenes wherever they keep them there is secret, soft romance that leads to rebellion and liberation.





	In the Pit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wolfenboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfenboy/gifts).



> Happy belated birthday Brett!!!

The brutal snarling and growling of animals viciously ripping each other apart filled the air, as well as the jeers of the crowd, now well into their cups, all screaming and laughing and yelling encouragement from where they stood around the pit.

“You’re next, dog,” his owner hissed, tugging at the lead that connected to the collar wrapped firmly around his neck.

Liam ignored him, sitting against the wall, head hanging low, eyes closed and his breaths deep and even. It was fruitless to panic, or get angry. He’d wasted far too much time and energy on those emotions in the past, and it had gotten him nowhere.

He was still here, still fighting, still, against all odds, alive.

The loud groans and cheers of the crowd signalled the end of the fight, and Liam got to his feet, fruitlessly brushing dirt from the filthy tattered pants he wore. It was more of a reflex than anything else. Once, they had been black, but now they were a sort of beige-grey, covered in dirt and blood and god knew what else.

A tug on his collar brought him back to the present, staring at the man who owned him now.

“Mutt,” he snarled, whipping out with the baton at his side, giving Liam a glancing blow across his ribs. Liam winced as a shock of electricity blasted through him, taking his breath away. “Pay attention,” his owner said with a cruel smirk.

Liam didn’t know his name. Didn’t care to. Around the pit, he was only known as The Surgeon.

He followed him down the tunnel and out into the pit, his stomach sinking as he saw who was waiting for him, his opponent. Theo Raeken.

There was no time to think. His owner shoved him forwards, pulling the gate down behind him, and silence fell, everyone interested as the two of them circled each other warily.

Liam didn’t look at Theo’s eyes, dropping to his stomach, watching every flex of his muscles as he stepped sideways, by now experienced enough to pick the exact moment that Theo would lunge.

He dove to the side, rolling, eyes following the curve of Theo’s arc through the air. In the time it took Liam to roll and stand, there was a wolf in the place of a man, fur matted and teeth bared, eyes shining gold.

Liam snarled, fangs dropping down and eyes flashing in warning. He couldn’t shift like Theo could, but he was no less dangerous.

It was harder to read Theo like this, but Liam was still in relatively good condition. Unlike some of the other owners, his kept him fed and watered, allowing his wounds to heal before chucking him in the ring again. Liam supposed he should be thankful for that. It had helped him to survive far longer than most. Whether that was a blessing or not was yet to be seen.

Theo lunged again, teeth sinking into Liam’s arm, and the crowd roared their elation as Liam fell to his knees, eyes narrowed. He brought his other hand around, claws fully extended, burying them in Theo’s side.

The wolf yelped, releasing his arm and springing away.

Liam watched him, feeling blood trickle down his arm, watching it drip onto the floor from Theo’s muzzle.

First blood had been drawn.

They circled once more. Distantly, Liam could hear the onlookers shouting their bets, but he had long since learned to drown them out. Distractions got you killed.

Instead, he was completely focussed on Theo, breathing deeply as took in his chemosignals, a mix of pain, adrenaline and anguish.

Liam could relate. He didn’t want to fight Theo either.

He jumped high in the air as Theo struck out at his legs, flipping so that he was behind the wolf, slicing down his flank. Theo rolled away from the worst of it, up and flashing towards him a moment later, biting down on his thigh.

Liam howled his pain, bringing both hands down and grabbing Theo, flinging him into the wall.

Theo was slow to get up, and Liam took the brief respite to look down at his thigh. It was a bad bite, blood gushing down his leg. He would have to finish this now, or he might bleed out before the wound could close.

“Sorry Theo,” he said under his breath, looking into his eyes.

Theo staggered to his feet, only to brought down again by a hard punch to his already wounded side. Liam stood over him, panting for breath, his heart heavy.

The crowd screamed their elation, their blood lust sickening to see. The gate lifted, and his owner was there, smiling as he clipped his lead back on, pockets bulging with cash.

Liam knew better than to look over his shoulder as Theo’s owner, The Pathologist, stalked past them. But he could still hear Theo’s whine of pain as they brought the baton down on him.

His face was stony as the door to his pen clanged shut behind him.

“Good job mutt,” his owner said cheerfully, locking it and walking away.

He sat back against the wall, grabbing a bandage from the few supplies he was allowed to have, wrapping his thigh absentmindedly, the pain of no consequence to him. He would heal, and then he would be back out there again.

This was his life now.

***

“These beasts are weak,” a female voice said dispassionately.

Liam cocked his head, listening in. The Geneticist must be visiting again. He hadn’t noticed her in the crowd.

“We’ve lost more than half in the past two weeks,” The Surgeon replied, sounding annoyed. “And the mutts that are left are a pretty pathetic, scrawny bunch.”

“The young ones,” she agreed. “They seem to last longer.”

“They’re more popular too,” he replied. They were moving closer, now standing in front of his pen. Both peered in at him. Liam was careful to keep his expression blank. It wouldn’t pay to look interested in their conversation.

“We’re getting a new batch in soon,” she said, eyes critically examining him. “They should be a lot more vicious.”

“Oh?” The Surgeon replied, turning to look at her.

“One of them is particularly of interest,” she said with a wide smile. “He’s made quite a name for himself, cost a pretty penny.”

“My dog can beat him,” the Surgeon said dismissively.

She looked into Liam’s eyes, smiling softly. Looking at her, you wouldn’t know how vicious she was, how cold and cruel.

“We’ll see,” she crooned.

***

It was an hour later before Theo was thrown into the pen, human again. The Pathologist glared at him as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Liam waited until his footsteps had retreated before he scrambled to his feet, rushing to Theo’s side.

“Hey,” he said softly, pulling Theo’s head into his lap, cupping his grimy face with his hands.

Theo’s green eyes fluttered open, dull with pain.

“Don’t move,” Liam whispered, watching with a grimace as thick black lines moved up his skin from Theo’s body to his, sinking into his veins with a fierce ache.

Theo sighed in relief as some of the pain dissipated.

“Thanks,” he said hoarsely, slowly sitting up.

Liam stayed where he was, assessing Theo’s injuries, eyes tracing down Theo’s back and to his side, where blood was still leaking from the claw marks in his side. Underneath it was a dark bruise. To make matters worse, from the wheezing sound that accompanied every breath, it was clear that Theo had at least one broken rib.

Guilt flooded him as he moved over to grab a bottle of water and a cloth. He kept his eyes downcast as he approached Theo, focussed on cleaning the blood and dirt from his wounds. Neither of them said anything. They didn’t need to. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this, and it wouldn’t be the last.

When the wound was clean, Liam watched carefully as it started to heal over. It was slower than his own healing. Theo wasn’t kept as well fed as him, and the shift took a lot of energy. But eventually, it did heal. Some of the tension leached from Theo’s body and Liam placed a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him back against his chest.

Theo grunted in pain as the movement jarred his sore ribs, and Liam placed a hand on his chest, taking more of his pain, holding him close.

“Better?” Liam asked quietly, tucking his face into Theo’s neck and breathing him in.

“Yeah,” Theo sighed, leaning against him.

Liam closed his eyes, arms wrapped around Theo, finding some small amount of solace in the slow and steady beat of Theo’s heart under his palm.

***  
The next morning they were carefully leaning against the wall in opposite corners when the door was opened.

“Come on mutts,” the Surgeon said, looking at them with a critical eye. Liam got to his feet, eyes on Theo, both of them narrowed in dislike and distrust. The Surgeon chuckled. “Come on big fella, the runt’s not gonna take a bite out of you today. Not after the beating you gave him last night.”

He didn’t need the reminder. The thud of Theo hitting the wall had replayed in his mind all night, the yelp of pain haunting his nightmares. Liam stomped past the Surgeon, ignoring Theo. He couldn’t look at him right now without feeling ashamed, and he needed to keep a tight lid on his chemosignals around the others. Any hint of weakness would be exploited, and Liam couldn’t afford that. One wrong move in here got you killed.

Liam walked into the mess hall, taking his usual place. The werewolves were let out twice during the day. Once in the morning for food and once later in the day for the fights. The mess hall was supervised by tall, burly humans with batons. They were known to beat wolves for breathing too loudly in their direction, so Liam always did his best to pretend they weren’t there. It was easier. Defiance also got you killed.

On one side of him was a scrawny looking kid called Corey. Liam didn’t mind him. He was quiet, and he didn’t fight dirty. His other side was left empty. The girl that had sat there the day before was gone. Liam didn’t ask where she’d gone. Questions… well, they got you killed.

Didn’t take much to get you killed around here. You either learned the rules or you died.

The Surgeon walked up behind Liam, putting a plate down in front of him. Liam looked down at it, his stomach roiling.

“Only the best for my prized dog,” he muttered in his ear, smirking as low growls filled the air, the rest of the table staring at his plate heaped with sausages, bacon and eggs, his reward for beating the shit out of another human being. The thought of eating it all made Liam feel sick to his stomach.

He walked away, and Liam flashed his eyes at the table, glaring them into submission. He wished he could share with them, or at least with Theo, halfway down the table, who had two eggs, one slice of toast and a single sliver of bacon on his plate, and had been lucky to even get that much.

Liam dug into his plate, nauseous and filled with despair, and unable to show it. He ate every single bite, and somehow, he managed to keep it all down.

When he was lead back to his pen, he was alone.

***

The quiet rattle of the lock being picked made Liam look up warily. The door slid open, and Theo stepped through, pulling it shut behind him.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked, getting to his feet.

He’d known, of course, that Theo was adept at picking locks. They’d had to sneak into the other pens sometimes, to help others, or to steal food from the kitchen. They’d talked in the early hours of the mornings,when everything was still and quiet, about just slipping away, but the fear of being caught kept them stuck here.

“The new shipment,” Theo hissed. “It’s already here.”

“How many?” Liam asked. Theo looked worried. And he’d taken a massive risk, coming to his pen in broad daylight.

“Ten, I think,” Theo said as Liam came to stand beside him. “I overheard them talking on their way out. There’s a special one, really powerful.”

Liam nodded slowly. “I heard the Geneticist talking about it last night.”

“She’s here?” Theo asked, face going pale.

“Yeah, why?” Liam asked.

“Last time there was a new shipment and she was here…” Theo trailed off, looking panicked.

“What?” Liam prompted.

“There was a cull. New meat versus old. Winners stayed. Losers were killed.” His expression was grim.

Silence fell. Liam felt ill all over again, his stomach threatening to bring up the food he’d forced down earlier. This was bad, really bad.

“I better get back,” Theo said reluctantly.

Liam reached out, catching his hand with his, squeezing it. “Be careful,” he urged.

Theo nodded, meeting his gaze, green eyes searching his face.

“I will,” he promised.

His gaze dropped, and Liam could feel the tingle along his lips as Theo’s eyes rested there for a heartbeat.

And then he was gone.

***

Liam didn’t have to wait long. There was a bustle of commotion, the compound suddenly filled with heartbeats and growls and people yelling. It was always like this when a new batch was brought in. Especially if they’d been free before. That was worse. Then there was begging.

“Where have you brought me?” Someone asked, their panic clear. It was a guy. He sounded young, another teenager maybe. “Please, just let me go home.”

Liam couldn’t hold back the pity that stirred in his chest. Poor guy had no idea what he was in for. Those ones never lasted long.

“Stop your pathetic whining,” another voice replied. It wasn’t familiar, and Liam cocked his head as he continued talking. “You’re making the rest of us look bad.”

“I’m not like you,” the boy whispered. “I’m not, I’m not.”

“Your denial is starting to piss me off,” the second guy snapped. “Just shut the fuck up.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. This guy sounded like the real deal. He could hear the growl that punctuated every word, and even from here, locked away in his pen, Liam could smell his scent. He was strong, healthy, a threat. Was this the all-powerful werewolf that his owner had been discussing with the Geneticist?

He was surprised as his door unlocked and the Surgeon opened the door, as if Liam’s thought had summoned him.

“Come and meet your new playmates,” he smirked, holding the door open.

Liam followed him, his expression stoic, clamping down on his scent and every possible emotion, his mask firmly in place. He didn’t want the newcomers to get a whiff of anything. They were fresh and strong, and Liam couldn’t show them any weakness if he wanted to survive.

Theo was already there, standing alongside the Pathologist, looking bored. Liam knew he was anything but. The other guy had long since mastered the art of observing without being observed doing so. No doubt the newcomers had already dismissed him as unimportant. And sure enough, none of them were looking at Theo. Instead, they were all looking at him.

Liam kept their attention, looking them over, examining their flashing eyes and bared teeth, their strong, muscular, well-fed bodies. For the most part, they looked like your pretty typical teenage supernaturals. Just a bit bigger and stronger than a human.

One boy, though, was scrawnier, fear making him turn in on himself. This must be the boy who had been begging to go home. He certainly didn’t look supernatural, although there was something about his scent that Liam couldn’t pick.

Before he was able to try and figure it out, a slight movement to the boy’s right made Liam’s eyes snap to the tall boy that stood beside him, at the front of the group. He was staring at Liam, a mocking smirk on his face as he looked down at him. This was clearly the owner of the aggressive voice. He practically oozed smug self-satisfaction.

He didn’t say anything, but then he didn’t need to. He’d established himself as a threat. That was all he wanted.

“What do you think?” The Surgeon asked, eyes gleaming as Liam turned his head to look at him.

Liam shrugged. “They don’t look that tough to me,” he said dismissively.

The Surgeon laughed. “Well, time will tell, won’t it?”

Liam studied him, tamping down on his anxiety before it could surface. He nodded, looking back over the newcomers. The only one who looked annoyed was the tall one. The rest were either resigned or scared.

***

There were no fights that night.

Liam paced his pen, every sense alert. The wolf in the pen next to his had long since gone to sleep, happy for the respite. But Liam was far too keyed up to sleep.

He heard Theo moving almost silently through the compound long before the snick of the lock being opened became clear. Liam ignored him, still pacing. He’d worn a path in the filth that lined the bottom of the pen, his pants brown with the dirt he’d kicked up

Theo’s eyes burned into him, and Liam’s skin prickled with awareness.

“What are we going to do?” Theo breathed after almost five minutes of watching him.

Liam came to a stop, head hung low.

“I don’t know,” he admitted helplessly, clenching his hands into fists. “I don’t have a fucking clue.”

“Hey,” Theo said, walking up to him, placing a hand on each shoulder as he sought out Liam’s gaze. “We’ll get through this.”

“I just have a bad feeling about this one Theo,” Liam whispered. “It feels like the end of the line.”

“It’s not. Don’t say that,” Theo whispered fiercely. “We’re together, and we’ll find a way out.”

Liam felt his heart skip. Together.

They’d never done anything about the tension between them. It had never felt like the right moment. This was literal hell, and the thought of being with Theo and watching him die, or worse, being the one to kill him, had stopped Liam every time he’d opened his mouth to say something.

But now, he regretted all that time they’d wasted. Time when they could have been chasing what little happiness they could find in this fucked up world.

And if Liam was going to die, he didn’t want to do it without showing him how he felt.

“Theo,” he said, sighing his name, bringing his hands up to rest against the other boy’s chest. He could feel Theo’s heart beating, could feel it starting to get faster.

His hands slid up further, sliding over his collarbone and cupping the back of his neck. Theo was staring at him like a deer in headlights, frozen in place, barely breathing.

And then Liam leaned in, eyes fluttering closed, pressing a soft kiss to Theo’s lips, exhaling sharply at the burning need that flared in his chest. Theo shuddered, fingers tightening on his shoulders, bruising him, but Liam didn’t care.

Because Theo kissed him back, the same desperate passion making his lips just as hungry as Liam’s were, his tongue sweeping out to tangle with his, his breaths coming out in harsh pants, mixing with Liam’s breath.

The smell of salt made Liam pull away slightly, swiping at his cheeks. Theo ducked his face down, rubbing at his eyes with his arm.

Liam stared at him, shook to the core of his being.

“Theo, I-”

“No,” Theo said sharply, bringing a hand up as it to physically ward off the words. He looked up slowly, eyes shining in the darkness.

“What?” Liam asked, confused. He wanted to tell Theo, needed to.

But Theo was shaking his head. “You can say it when we get out of here alive,” he growled.

Liam stared. There was a fierce determination in his eyes, something that Liam recognised, though he hadn’t felt it in a long time.

Hope.

***

The next morning at breakfast was tense. All of the older wolves had moved to one end of the table. Liam sat at the head of it, with Theo on his left side, Corey on his right, all previous grudges dead and buried. It was us versus them now.

Liam had learned the tall boy’s name within a few minutes of sitting down. The new meat had gathered around him as their leader, fawning over him. Brett lapped it up like it was his due, smirking at Liam as he periodically looked up from his plate.

The anger was like a red wave, pulsating up and down his spine, making it harder and harder to focus. Theo’s hand on his leg below the table was the only thing holding him back.

“Easy,” Theo breathed. “I don’t think he’s the one we need to worry about.”

Liam followed his gaze to the scrawny looking kid sitting in the dead centre of the table, spare seats on either side of him. Apart from Brett, everyone else was staring at him, or rather, at his plate.

It was heaped higher than even Liam’s was, and the boy was just staring at it, and then around the table at the meagre scraps on other people’s plates. He looked anguished as he tried to offer some of his food to the others around him, but they all shrank back, sending fearful looks over their shoulders at the guards.

“He must be the one,” Theo murmured to Liam.

Liam nodded. His eyes slid to his other side, to Corey, who was looking at the boy with pity. Corey felt his gaze, and looked at him, startled to have drawn his attention. He indicated the boy with a point of his chin, and that was all the permission Corey needed, getting to his feet and picking up his plate.

Every eye was on Corey as he moved around the table and sat opposite the boy.

“Hi,” he said, expression guarded as he looked at him. “What’s your name?”

The boy glanced around the room, shrinking back at the stares of the others. Corey cleared his throat impatiently, bringing his attention back to him. He quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Mason,” he whispered.

“I’m Corey,” he replied.

Mason blinked, eyes searching his face. Corey looked back with open curiousity. The room was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop.

The darker boy pushed his plate towards Corey. “Would you like to share my food?” He asked nervously.

Corey looked at Liam, who tilted his head, considering.

It would probably be a good idea to get this kid on-side if he was some ferocious fighter or whatever. Looks could be deceiving, but the Dread Doctor’s didn’t waste good food on weaklings.

He inclined his head, and Corey slowly looked back at Mason, giving him a sweet smile.

“Sure,” he said quietly, taking a sausage from his plate.

Mason watched him pick up his knife and fork, cutting into it. He didn’t relax until Corey had swallowed it, and no guards stepped forward to reprimand him.

The silence broke as wolves on both sides starting whispering urgently to each other.

Neither Liam or Theo said a word, but the tightening of Theo’s hand against his leg before he released it said more than enough.

They were in this together, and they’d find a way out together.

Whatever it took.

***

Things changed almost overnight. There were no fights, no mention of them happening in the immediate future, but each of the new recruits were taken away one at a time, returning exhausted and bruised, claiming that the Dread Doctors had been testing them.

Last to be tested was Mason, who grew more and more nervous with every passing day. Corey had attached himself to the other boy like a shadow, sticking to his side anytime they were allowed out, which was a lot more often than previous.

“I don’t like this,” Theo said quietly to Liam as Mason was lead away.

“Like what?” Brett asked, sneaking up behind them.

Neither of them jumped. Brett hadn’t exactly been subtle in getting closer to them.

Liam turned his head, keeping the taller boy in his sights. Brett had seemed angry ever since he’d returned from his test a few days ago, picking fights with whoever was closest. More often than not that was Liam, but Liam had managed not to rise to the bait so far.

Theo didn’t look at Liam as he replied to Brett. “Mason,” he said. “They keep calling him The Beast.”

“Who is they?” Brett asked with narrowed eyes.

“The owners,” Theo informed him. “And they have this excited look in their eyes, like they’re almost salivating. I haven’t seen them like this before.”

“And you’ve been here how long?” Brett asked him sceptically.

Theo shuddered. “Five years,” he whispered.

Brett’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve survived five years in the pits?”

Theo nodded, eyes shuttered. Liam wanted to reach out and touch him, reassure him, but he didn’t dare in such a public place.

“And you?” Brett asked.

“Three,” Liam sighed. The worst three years of his life.

The arrogant look on Brett’s face vanished, replaced with fury. “That’s disgusting,” he spat.

“That’s how it is,” Liam shrugged.

“How are you not angry?” Brett snapped at him, poking his chest. “How can you live like this?”

“I take it you haven’t been in this shit as long as us,” Theo said, eyes narrowed at Brett.

“No,” Brett admitted, eyes still flashing. “I got captured a month ago.”

The envy in Liam’s chest almost choked him. Brett had been free for so long, had managed to live out in the real world for twenty years.

But Liam, well, he had been only fifteen when he’d been taken, had missed his eighteenth birthday only a few weeks ago, celebrated with blood soaking into his pants from a wound on his stomach and a fierce headache. He hadn’t even told anyone. There were no birthdays in hell.

“A month,” he said, voice dull.

Before Brett could reply, a loud howl pierced the air, filled with pain and fury. Liam shivered, eyes rocketing to the tunnel that lead to the pit. The pit where Mason had gone only ten minutes previously.

“The Beast,” Theo whispered.

It sounded big, real big.

“We have to get out,” Liam said, eyes wide with panic.

“What?” Brett asked.

Liam ignored him. “Tonight,” he hissed to Theo.

“You’re leaving?” Brett snapped.

Reluctantly, Liam tore his gaze from Theo’s to look up at Brett.

“Can you hear that thing?” Liam asked him. “You think you could beat it? Cause I know I sure as fucking hell can’t. So yes, I’m leaving.”

“You’re just going to sneak away?” Brett asked as if Liam hadn’t even spoken. “What about the owners? What about the other werewolves?”

“If it’s them or me,” Liam said in a low voice that he barely recognised. “Then I’m gonna pick me.”

Brett studied his face, nodding, a smile slowly forming on his face.

“Fine,” he said, nodding slowly. “I’m leaving too. But I’m gonna take those bastards out first.”

“Do whatever the fuck you want, Brett,” Liam said coolly. “Just stay out of my way.”

He left the room, Theo trailing after him, the pained howls of the Beast following them all the way to the other side of the compound. Liam felt a pang of regret, but swallowed it down painfully. He had to think of his own survival, and Theo’s. Nothing else was important right now.

***

“You think it worked?” Theo asked, pressing a kiss to Liam’s shoulder in the privacy of Liam’s pen.

“I hope so,” Liam whispered, leaning into him, arms wrapped low around his waist. “We’ve planted the seed, we just have to hope it takes off.”

***

Darkness fell, and there was electricity in the air. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. They’d listened to Brett moving around the compound, quietly talking to each of the new wolves, getting them on board for his revolution. The older wolves listened, Liam could tell, but made no commitments.

There had been escape attempts before. None had been successful.

Mason had been put in a pen nearby. Liam could hear him crying, and every sob was like a stab to the heart. He almost preferred the howls of pain to this.

Corey had gone in there, wrapping himself around the boy, trying to console him, but nothing so far had worked. It set Liam’s teeth on edge, made him feel things he thought he’d long since shut off. Compassion. Pity. Empathy. He wanted to help, but he couldn’t afford to. There would only be one shot at this.

Liam could feel the charge rising, the murmuring of voices growing louder, hearts starting to race.

“This is it,” Liam murmured.

Theo stood beside him, hand intertwined with his. He squeezed it, drawing Theo’s gaze. Liam looked into his eyes, getting lost in them. There were interesting eyes. Sometimes almost grey, sometimes almost blue, depending on the lighting and the mood he was in, but at the moment they’d settled on his usual green.

For a moment, they both let their masks drop, leaning in for a kiss that held every pent-up emotion that they’d kept bottled up over the years. It was magical, but also devastating, and Liam’s breath was ragged as he reluctantly pulled away.

Outside, they could hear the sound of a scuffle, the wolves attacking the guards, screams of anger and pain filling the air.

“Let’s go,” Theo whispered.

Liam nodded, and they walked out of his pen cautiously, moving as quickly and quietly as they could to Mason’s pen.

They found the two boys wrapped in each other, Mason with his face buried in the crook of Corey’s neck, hyperventilating.

Corey looked up as they walked in. “He’s having a panic attack,” he told them, sounding worried.

“Snap him out of it,” Liam said. “We have to get out of here.”

The pale boy nodded, turning to Mason and grabbing his shoulders. “Mason,” he growled, flashing his eyes.

Mason gasped, reeling back from him and landing on his ass. He looked frightened, but his breathing wasn’t as fast as it was before.

“Time to go,” Theo urged them from the door.

Corey walked over to Mason, helping him up and dragging him along. “Come on,” Corey snapped as Mason resisted him. “You’ll die if you stay here.”

“Maybe I should,” Mason muttered under his breath.

Corey paused. “You haven’t been here long enough to be that cynical.”

Mason just shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “I’m a monster.”

Theo made an impatient noise in his throat, clearly annoyed. “We’re all monsters, we’ve all done shit. Can we just fucking get out of this hellhole, please?”

Liam placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently, and Theo took a ragged breath. Once he was calm, Liam shot a glare at Mason. “We’ll leave you behind in a heartbeat, Mason. And we’re your only chance of making it out of here alive. If you want to live, you’ll man up and you’ll follow us. If not, do us a favour and stop holding us back.”

Mason blinked at him, shocked by how cold Liam was. Slowly, he nodded, shoulders slumping. “I want to live,” he whispered.

Liam turned back to Theo, who nodded and continued leading them through the tunnels of the compound. He didn’t look back, but he heard Corey and Mason following.

The sounds of fighting grew louder as they got closer to the mess hall. Brett had clearly decided to take a stand where the wolves had the most room to fight, and a glance in the door made it hard to tell if he was winning or not.

“I can’t see them,” Theo hissed to Liam.

“We have to wait,” Liam murmured back. “If those three aren’t here, then it’s all for nothing. They’ll just keep hunting us.”

“What are they doing?” Mason asked, horror making his voice quiver.

“Killing the guards,” Theo said grimly.

“And the owners?” Corey asked quietly.

“Not here,” Liam sighed.

They watched from the hidden doorway that Theo had lead them to, the door only partially cracked open, letting them see as the wolves, young and fresh and strong, starting to overpower the guards. The older wolves, seeing that they were winning, started joining in one by one, until all of the guards were dead, the pack were howling their victory song.

“Idiots,” Theo muttered.

“It’s a good thing,” Liam whispered. “It’ll draw them out.”

And sure enough, only moments later the door was kicked down, the three Dread Doctors standing on the threshold in their full gear, all three of them holding batons, more guards at their backs, all armed to the teeth.

“Put them all down,” the Geneticist ordered coldly.

The guards surged past them, batons crackling with electricity. Confusion reigned as the two forces met, the air filled with angry snarling and yelps of pain, a deafening cacophony.

A guard circled around the room, coming to stand directly in front of them. It was clear that he intended to flee, and Theo ushered them back as the guard eased the door open, backing into it.

He whirled around, his cry of shock muffled by Theo’s hand around his throat, the other hand gripping his wrist where he held the baton.

“Drop it,” Theo ordered, “and you get to leave here with your life.”

The guard dropped it immediately, and Theo let him go, watching with derision as he scrambled away down the tunnel.

Theo bent down to pick up the discarded baton, turning it on.

“It’s time,” he said quietly. Liam nodded, getting behind him. “You two go first,” Theo ordered. “You need to get to those doors. We’ll deal with anyone trying to stop you.”

They nodded, both stepping up to the door. At the last moment, Liam grabbed Corey’s arm and forced him back, and Theo brought the baton into the middle of Mason’s back, before kicking him forwards and shutting the door.

“What the fuck?” Corey yelled, scrambling to his feet, but Liam grabbed him, wrapping his arms around him.

“He’ll be fine,” Liam assured him. “He’s the Beast, Corey, he’ll be fine.”

A loud roar shook the door, and the room on the other side fell quiet.

The three of them moved to the tiny sliver of light, watching as the wolves slowly dropped back, until only the Beast stood before the guards and three owners.

It was huge, bigger than Liam had thought, towering over the guards in front of him. It definitely didn’t look like any werewolf he’d ever seen before, and the way it tore through the guards who desperately tried to contain it was terrifying. Liam flinched at the sound of a man being literally torn in two. He’d remember that sound for the rest of his life, he was sure of it.

Finally, the remaining guards were gone, and there was only the Beast, the three owners, and all of the remaining werewolves.

The Beast roared angrily, diving at the Dread Doctors, who jumped out of the way, until the three of them had surrounded it, holding up their batons and waving them menacingly as the monster turned between the three of them, fangs dripping with blood, snarling.

“This is our chance,” Theo whispered.

As quietly as he could, Theo opened the door, kicking off his pants and shifting. Almost twenty pairs of eyes watching him as he slunk forward, eyes intent on his prey.

He was lightening quick as he lunged forward, biting down on the Pathologist’s leg and bringing him down, the Beast taking advantage of it immediately, surging forward to knock away his baton and picking him up.

The Pathologist struggled, looking down at Theo, the light in his eyes disappearing as the Beast crushed his throat and dropped him to the floor.

And then there were two.

The Beast harried them, Theo working with him to back them further into the room, until the other wolves were able to drift around the edges of the room, standing in front of the exit.

They could have left, but they didn’t. They stood there, and they watched.

Liam had expected the Surgeon to go down next, but instead, the Geneticist stumbled over the body of a guard, and that moment of inattention was enough for the two wolves to lunge forward, Theo bringing her down and the Beast stepping on her prone form and pressing down until her chest caved in.

The Surgeon dropped his baton, turning to flee down the hidden exit, but Liam was there, and Liam was waiting.

His eyes already gold, fangs already bared, claws already extended. “This is the end of the line,” he snarled.

The Surgeon opened his mouth, whether to say something derisive or beg for his life, Liam would never know. With two big steps forward, he raised his hand, slashing his claws across the Surgeons face as he grabbed it and brought it against the wall with a sickening thud.

Despite how Liam had feared him, he was only human, and no human could survive such a blow.

Silence fell.

***

Liam led the wolves out of the compound and into the fresh air. Outside, dawn was breaking, and Liam felt his eyes watering as he witnessed the sunrise for the first time in three years.

Theo stood at his side, eyes wide, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“We did it,” he said hoarsely, taking Liam’s hand.

Liam nodded, taking a deep shaky breath of the fresh air, filling his lungs with it, overcome with emotion.

Corey came to stand beside them. He was holding Mason up, who had an arm slung across his shoulders, human again.

“He finally tired himself out and turned back,” he said wearily.

“Good,” Liam said.

Brett moved to stand with them as well.

“Where will you go?” He asked.

Liam shrugged. His family had been killed when he was taken, he didn’t really have anywhere to go. He knew it was the same for Theo and Corey.

“You could come back with us,” Brett suggested. “This was only part of our pack. The rest escaped.”

Liam looked at Theo, who studied his face and then slowly nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” Theo said quietly. “We’ll come with you.”

***  
The rest of the pack drifted away after that, searching for keys for the trucks that had brought them here, as well as cleaning out the compound of all of the supplies they could find for their journey home.

Liam turned to look at Theo, eyes examining him in the sunlight, admiring him.

“What?” Theo asked, looking self-conscious.

Liam just smiled. “You’re ridiculously good looking,” he said. “I was pretty sure you were, but most of the time when I was with you it was pitch black.”

Theo rolled his eyes. “And would it matter if I wasn’t?” He snarked.

“No,” Liam grinned, “but it is a nice perk.”

“Dork,” Theo said, smiling at him fondly, and it took Liam’s breath away.

He stepped closer, cupping Theo’s face in his hands.

“Do I get to say it now?” He asked quietly, stroking Theo’s cheeks tenderly.

“Yes,” Theo whispered.

“I love you Theo,” Liam said earnestly. “With every fibre of my being. You were my only light down there, and I want to spend every day of the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

Theo had known it was coming, but he was still stunned, eyes wide as he stared at him. “You mean it?” He asked, lower lip quivering, eyes filling with tears.

“Yes,” Liam said fiercely. “I do, I mean it.” And he leaned in, kissing Theo hard, trying to convey with his lips the depth of his emotions for the other wolf.

This time, it was Theo who broke the kiss.

“Me too,” he whispered. “I love you, Liam. So much.”

Liam smiled through his tears, happiness filling him.

They’d wasted so much time, but now they were free, and Liam wouldn’t waste a single, goddamn, second.


End file.
